Cerebral Palsy
Patient and Family Resources
We want you to have all the information you and your child need to understand cerebral palsy and to get the care your child needs. This page provides links to helpful resources that were created or chosen by Seattle Children’s.
Resources at Seattle Children’s
- How to prepare for your visit
- Transportation and places to stay
- Hospital services
- Paying for care
- Social Work
- Interpreter Services
Condition-Specific Resources
- Cerebral Palsy (CP) Classifying Your Child’s CP (PDF) (Spanish)
- Cerebral Palsy (CP) Diagnosis and First Steps (PDF) (Spanish)
- Cerebral Palsy (CP) Movement Disorders (PDF) (Spanish)
- Cerebral Palsy (CP) Resources (PDF) (Spanish)
- Cerebral Palsy Topography: How CP Affects the Body (PDF) (Spanish)
- Developmental Follow-up After a NICU Stay (PDF) (Spanish)
- General Movement Assessments (PDF) (Spanish)
- Gross Motor Function Classification System Level 1 (PDF) (Spanish)
- Gross Motor Function Classification System Level 2 (PDF) (Spanish)
- Gross Motor Function Classification System Level 3 (PDF) (Spanish)
- Gross Motor Function Classification System Level 4 (PDF) (Spanish)
- Gross Motor Function Classification System Level 5 (PDF) (Spanish)
Contact our Rehabilitation Medicine Program to learn more about how we treat children with cerebral palsy. Contact our Neurosciences Center to have your child evaluated for cerebral palsy and spasticity.
Medical and Therapeutic Treatment-Specific Resources
- Ankle-Foot Orthosis/Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthosis (PDF) (Spanish)
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (PDF) (Spanish)
- Botox Injections for Tight Muscles (PDF) (Spanish)
- Clinical Feeding and Swallowing Evaluation (PDF) (Spanish)
- Constraint Induced Therapy Program (PDF) (Spanish)
- Feeding and Swallowing Therapy (PDF) (Spanish)
- Frequent Questions About Alternative and Augmentative Communication (PDF) (Spanish)
- How to Use a Hoyer Lift (PDF) (Spanish) (Vietnamese)
- Outpatient Rehabilitation Therapy: What to Expect (PDF) (Spanish)
- Phenol Injections for Tight Muscles (PDF) (Spanish)
- Resources for Wheelchairs and Medical Equipment (PDF)
- Serial Casting (PDF) Spanish
Surgical Treatment: Specific Resources
- Care After Lower Extremity Orthopedic Surgery (PDF) (Russian) (Spanish) (Vietnamese)
- Care After Multi-Level Surgery (SEMLS) (PDF) (Arabic) (Chinese) (Russian) (Spanish)
- Intrathecal Baclofen (ITB) Pump Implant (PDF)
- Intrathecal Baclofen (ITB) Test Dose (PDF) (Spanish)
- Physical Therapy After Multi-Level Surgery (PDF) (Spanish)
- Preparing for Multi-Level Surgery (SEMLS) (PDF) (Arabic) (Chinese) (Russian) (Spanish)
- Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR): Surgery to help your child walk (reduce spasticity) (PDF) (Simplilfed Chinese) (Spanish)
- Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy for Comfort and Care (PDF) (Simplified Chinese) (Spanish)
Support Groups and Classes
- CP Caregiver Support Group: Our free monthly Cerebral Palsy Caregiver Connection (PDF) helps parents and caregivers connect with others who care for children with CP.
- Parent Support Program: Our Parent Support Program(PDF) (Spanish) connects you with another parent or caregiver who has had similar experiences caring for children with special health needs. Most connections are over the phone and provide emotional and nonjudgmental support, a sense of community and practical information and community resources.
- Sibshops: Seattle Children's Sibshops are fun and recreational workshops designed to provide support and guidance for siblings of children with special medical or developmental needs.
- Support Groups at Seattle Children’s
- Adaptive Sports and Recreation (PDF)
- Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development Seattle Children’s
- Parent to Parent Support Programs (Spanish) The Arc: Washington State
General Cerebral Palsy Resources
- All Access Life Links to products, apps, resources and videos for people with disabilities
- American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine
- Americans with Disabilities Act U.S. Department of Labor
- Cerebral Palsy Alliance
- Cerebral Palsy Facts(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) (Spanish)
- Cerebral Palsy Research Network Now merged with CP Daily Living, CPNOW and MyCP
- Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA)
- CP Foundation
- Disability Rights Section U.S. Department of Justice
- Early Childhood Special Education Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Early Support for Infants & Toddlers Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families
- Impact Collaboratory: Igniting Mobility, Play, and Access for Children with Technology University of Washington
- International Alliance for Pediatric Stroke
- Open Doors for Multicultural Families (multiple languages)
- Partnerships for Action, Voices for Empowerment (PAVE)
- Special Education Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Special Olympics Washington
- Specialized Programs for People with Disabilities Seattle Parks and Recreation Seattle Parks and Recreation
- State of the Evidence Traffic Lights 2019: Systematic Review of Interventions for Preventing and Treating Children with Cerebral Palsy Novak
- Steele Lab: Engineering to Enhance Human Mobility University of Washington
- Technology for Independence Washington Assistive Technology Act Program
- United Cerebral Palsy
- Washington Mental Health Referral Service for Children and Teens
- World Cerebral Palsy Day: October 6
Books
The link to online ordering is provided for convenience and does not imply endorsement by Seattle Children’s.
-
For children
- A Rainbow of Friends by P.K. Hallinan
- All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel
- Private Eye, Romeo Riley The Boy Who Saw Too Much by April Whitt
- Private Eye, Romeo Riley The Series: The Case of the Crooked Campaign by April Whitt
- Private Eye, Romeo Riley The Series: The Sneaky Santa Sabotage by April Whitt
- Roll With It by Jamie Sumner
- Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair by Jamee Riggio Heelan
- Taking Cerebral Palsy to School by Mary Anderson
- Taking Seizures Disorders to School: A Story about Epilepsy by Kim Gosselin
- Views from Our Shoes: Growing Up with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs by Donald Meyer
-
For teens and young adults
- Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner
- Eye Can Write: A Memoir of a Child’s Silent Soul Emerging by Jonathan Bryan
- If at Birth You Don’t Succeed: My Adventures with Disaster and Destiny by Zach Anner
- Nujeen: One Girl's Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair by Nujeen Mustafa with Christina Lamb
- One More Step: My Story of Living with Cerebral Palsy, Climbing Kilimanjaro, and Surviving the Hardest Race on Earth by Bonner Paddock
- Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
- Pure Grit by Lily Collison and Kara Buckley
- Rolling through Life: Camp Handican by Russell Thompson
- Someone Like Me: An Unlikely Story of Challenge and Triumph Over Cerebral Palsy by John Quinn
- The Mermaid in the Gherkin Jar by Tony Seymour
- Wheels Galore!: Adaptive Cars, Wheelchairs, and a Vibrant Daily Life with Cerebral Palsy by Iain MacLeod
-
For parents and caregivers
- Cerebral Palsy: A Complete Guide for Caregiving 2nd ed. by Freeman Miller and Steven J. Bachrach
- Children and Youth with Complex Cerebral Palsy: Care and Management by Laurie Glader and Richard Stevenson
- Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Parent’s Guide by Elaine Geralis, ed.
- Finnie’s Handling the Young Child with Cerebral Palsy 4th ed. by Eva Bower, ed.
- Married with Special-Needs Children: A Couples’ Guide to Keeping Connected by Laura Marshak
- Seizures and Epilepsy in Childhood: A Guide by John Freeman, Eileen Vining, and Diana Pillas
- Spastic Diplegia Bilateral Cerebral Palsy by Lily Collison
- The Four Walls of My Freedom: Lessons I’ve Learned from a Life of Caregiving by Donna Thomson
- The Special Needs Planning Guide: How to Prepare for Every Stage of Your Child's Life by John Nadworny and Cynthia Haddad
- Uncommon Fathers: Reflections on Raising a Child with a Disability by Donald Meyer
- Wellbeing for Parents and Caregivers by CP Now
- What I Wish I Knew Back Then: A Physical Therapist and Mother's Perspective of Raising her Child with Cerebral Palsy by Marsh Naidoo
Contact Us
If your child has been diagnosed with CP and you would like to receive care at Seattle Children’s, ask your child’s medical provider to send a referral to our Rehabilitation Medicine program. If you have a referral, call 206-987-2114 to schedule an appointment with Rehab Medicine.
To have your child evaluated to determine if they have CP, ask their provider to send a referral to our Neurosciences Program. If you have a referral, call 206-987-2016 to make an appointment with Neurosciences.
Providers, see our referral guidelines for Rehabilitation Medicine and for Neurology.
Disclaimer: If you have questions about links on this page, see our statement about linking from seattlechildrens.org.